Chasing Rainbows
by Sambev
Summary: “Stupid.” He said, his voice quivered, “Stupid.” He tried again, until he had convinced himself that he wasn’t bothered by what he had seen.
1. Chapter 1

_Raphael was dreaming about the little gold-fish that you could win at the fair. April had once told him most the games humans played at the fair were rigged, but now he had so many fish, they couldn't be that hard to get… _His fingers curled around the edge of his hammock,

"Raph…" A voice whispered in the dark of his doorway, cautious.

Too quiet, Raphael was used to the noises of his family. Usually consisting of explosions or screams. This time a hand touched him just slightly, just enough. "Raph, wake up. Shh."

Instantly Raph was awake, eyes wide and sharp. In another second he could be leaping to the floor and be ready to attack. But a hand curled around his mouth to silence and still him.

In the near perfect dark only the whites of their eyes shown, but the gloved hand and the smell of gasoline were distinct to Raph. "Casey, what are you sneakin' around here for?"

"Come on, I need your help." The man backed away, something creaked in his hands, a hockey stick most likely.

Quietly Raphael grabbed his mask and his sai, although knowing Casey he suspected someone, if not everyone, would have heard him enter. He began to grab his knee and elbow pads, Casey grabbed his arm again, his hot breath against the turtle's face. "Forget those, we have to go."

"Sheesh whatever," Casey disappeared outside his room, "do we have time for me to roll my eyes?" Raphael did without waiting for an answer and jogged silently after his friend. The man was already scaling his way up the ladder to the main sewers, Raphael picked up his speed, "What's the big rush? What's going on?"

Even splashing footsteps grew dimmer down the sewer. His own footsteps splashing alternatively, his head cocked so he could better hear the man he was following, but Casey's steps kept falling into his own pattern. Finally with a frustrated growl Raph pushed him self slightly on the curved edge out of the sludge and sprinted until he caught up. "Casey!"

"Come on!" Casey stopped for just an instant, his face now hid by a plastic mask and waved at Raph, before scaling another ladder and emerging onto the street.

For a moment he stood stunned and looked for his friend, when the whirr of a car nearing reminded him to press himself in the shadows. When the car sped past Raph shivered, scowling, the only reason a car would drive like that on an empty street was because someone was hurt, or someone was going to get hurt. Its headlights cast a box of light, revealing the silhouette of Casey once more, waving briskly from a roof before running again. Distracted from the dangerous driver, Raph back flipped on a catwalk and climbed until he could leap across the street and once again run in the direction of his friend.

Seemingly he'd lost Raph again. The teen had to fight off a yawn, the initial excitement of something interesting happening had worn off, now he was just tired and annoyed. A movement from nearly three roofs away caught his eye and he picked up speed again. The night was soft, although starless, and warm, adding to his sleepiness, but he ran, his bare feet soundless. "Why the heck and I following this nut around?" He muttered to himself.

Finally Casey's form loomed, crouched on the edge on a building and looking down. "Case! What's yer deal man?"

Tires screeching below distracted him, he hunched down beside the man, clinging to the edge like a cat. The same car, speeding, had met up with them again. They must have cut across to out run them at that speed, Raph thought. The little old thing sped along, then took a swift jerk right, then left again. _Drunks._ Raph reached to his wrist, looking for a shuriken to take out their tire with, but he'd never his wristbands on. He growled, "Geeze, look at those goons. They're all going to be road paint. Let's call the cops on 'em." Raph asked, then turned to Casey.

He wasn't there.

But his form was running again, Raph hadn't even felt him get up, or start running in his old sneakers. Raph jumped up, mildly embarrassed and took off in chase again. The crazy car raced along side, irregularly slowing and speeding so it otherwise kept pace with the turtle. Raph could only shake his head, something big must be going on, otherwise Casey wouldn't be so worked up, he thought. Then it sped ahead, quelling Raph's suspicion that it somehow knew he was there. The screeched around a corner, it's headlights clearly caught and reflected off the pole that it would curl around seconds later.

Raphael slid to a halt, his mouth falling open as if to scream 'no', but knew he couldn't do anything. The little old thing curled around the pole, the front and rear otherwise meeting on the other side before the side doors tore open. Raph could see three passengers as it did, being thrown despite their seatbelts. The engine continued, labored, although with such a outdated car it may have sounded like that before, but everything else around fell silent. No light turned on in the surrounding apartments, but then, Raph reasoned instantly, no electricity came from the pole, so maybe the power was already out. No one emerged from the houses, no windows opened.

People today… He thought, leaping to the street, and sliding down a pole on the opposite side of the street. As soon as his feet hit the cement he called out, "Hey! Is anyone hurt?" _Did anyone live._ His mind supplied, but he had decided to be optimistic.

There was no answer.

The Car was already open, Raph forced himself for a moment not to think about the front seat and the driver, which had otherwise disappeared into the trunk. But the two back seat passengers who were limp in their laps, but otherwise didn't seem too bad. At least they appeared unhurt. Taking a deep breath he reached into the car and touched the nearest unconscious man's arm. The man seemed to make a small hurt mewling sound, Raph thought, but his arm, like liquid melted off between Raph's fingers, cold and clumpy.

Disturbed and disgusted Raph yelped and backed away in an awkward run. An apartment light lit up above him, then the one just below, and the one just below that. Shaking his green fingers free of the mess he watched as the lights grew into a pillar that seemed aimed at him, the goose-bumps were forming before he even realized he was scared. _Those people are awake. They'll take care of it._ He nodded resolutely and ran the other way into the alley, up the catwalks and onto the safety of the dark rooftops.

"Stupid." He said, his voice quivered, "Stupid." He tried again, until he had convinced himself that he wasn't bothered by what he had seen.

The sky glimmered with indigo and peach, morning was coming already. Whatever Casey had his eye on was probably over now. Where ever Casey had gone. Raph turned to head back the way he came, then realized he was only a few blocks away from Casey's apartment. He'd go back there and wait for the idiot to come back, then as a bonus he'd have to hide Raph until the sun went down again.

Cautious of the impending morning, Raph slid down onto the window sill and tried to lift the window, but it was locked. He let the annoyance cover the fear that still pricked at him. Raph had ways of pushing aside things he couldn't handle, like grisly car crashes and melting arms. Maybe later he would ask Donny what caused that to happen, because he couldn't even guess.

He tried lifting it again, Casey would have come out this way, so it must have just been stuck. Then a moment later Casey walked into the room on the other side of the window, rubbing his eyes, shirtless, wearing only one sock, and by all means looking like he'd just woken up. Once the man saw Raph he hurried to open the window and let his friend in.

"What's up Raph? You never caught me as a morning person." Casey yawned halfway through and turned on a small lamp that dressed the floor in yellow light.

"What are you talking about?" Raph clenched his fists. "You woke me up!"

Casey gave him an incredulous eye, "What are _you_ talking about?"

"You woke me up!" He whispered, "Why did you have me follow you all over the friggin' city if it wasn't even important?" Raph paused for a moment then added, "and you ditched me!"

"I've been here all night, yer nuts Raph. You must have imagined it, my cousin used to have dreams where things seemed real. Wakin' dreams for something like that." Raph didn't provide a response, just glowered and moved around him to the small kitchen so he could wash his hand. "What were you dreamin' about?"

"You wakin' me up I guess…" He muttered, but when he thought about his dream before all this, all he could remember was the color blue. And he had to admit, it was like a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

"Right, I'm outta here." Casey grabbed a jean coat off the couch. Raph blinked away the sleepy stupor he'd fallen into while his friend was in the shower.

"Where're you going?" He asked, sitting up. Sun fell in behind the dusty drawn curtains and chased away the last lingering fingers of cold fear Raph had felt. Leaving mostly annoyance and boredom.

Casey patted his back pockets and pulled out a rubber band for his hair, "Going to work, don't make a mess psycho." Then he was out the door before he could hear Raphael's rude response.

Raph sat for a moment listening to the sound of the city. A baby was screaming somewhere below, someone else was playing music. Car tires screeched, causing Raph's shoulders to tense just slightly. But Casey's waking dream theory seemed a lot more real then the alternative. After some more questioning and stealthily waiting for Casey to crack up and loose his poker face, he had to admit it hadn't been Casey.

Psycho.

Yawning, or sighing maybe, Raph reached for the phone that lived on the table. Fingering the plastic, he tried to decide what he would say. Depending on who answered there were a hundred different lies ranging from ridiculous to fairly believable.

"Whatevah…" He dialed and listened. A noise seemed to gurgle in the background. "Hello?" The gurgle died down to a hum, as he was hanging up he thought he heard the smallest of sounds like a kitten mewling.

Raphael's fresh teen mind immediately dismissed the sound before his instincts could protest it.

Sitting back, Raph kicked a broken radio off the little coffee table to make room to prop his feet up, and dialed again. This time aiming for the right buttons carefully with his large fingers.

It rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Leo, hey, it's me."

Whenever he called, Raph always felt like he was missing something important because of the active noises in the back. Mikey was laughing, and dishes were either being washed or tortured. Leo started to answer then stopped, "Mikey, knock it off!"

Raph grinned, although he couldn't guess at whatever destruction his little brother was causing. "I'm at Casey's."

There was a short silence, "I didn't even hear you leave."

"Uh oh, Splinter's gonna fire you."

Leo must have chosen not to respond to that on purpose, while Raph listened hard for a frustrated sigh. "Well, you'll be back as soon as it gets dark?"

"Yeah, I was just checking in. Figured you'd have noticed I was gone by now."

"Well, it's only seven, I thought you were still sleeping."

"Oh… right, see you later."

"Sure, bye Raph."

They hung up at the same time, Raph mildly disappointed. For a while Leo had really been riding him, almost to the point where Raphael was sure he'd kill his brother if the Shredder didn't do it first. But Raph couldn't help thinking that maybe Leo had felt the same way about Raph's behavior, because ever since the Shredder had been defeated Leo didn't seemed to care what Raph did as long as it was legal.

Without that tin can and his little foot fungus the world seemed as simple as a TV sitcom. Leo was trying to catch up on his childhood, and Raph was just bored. Donny and Mike had never really changed, they knew how to keep away from the drama.

Now he had the rest of the day to do nothing in a tiny apartment. TV!

Static crackled, and he changed the station. At home they had every channel known to America, Casey had three stations. Annoying, and Raph wasn't a big fan of local news.

April's face filled the dusty screen causing Raph to smile slightly, but it quickly faded into a skinny man holding an umbrella to keep the sun off his balding head. "The driver was a young man." Raph looked a little harder as the image dissolved into static, a little car wrapped around a pole with the side door torn off. "Luckily he carried no passengers…"

"What?" Raph sat up wide eyed, but shrugged, trying to look cool even though no one was there to see his alarm. "No… I don't care." He switched off the television and let his head fall back against aging sofa.

"Raph…"

His eyes rolled up to give him an upside down view of the window, with a dark silhouette perched behind it.

It tapped on the glass, "Psst, open up!"

"Jesus!" Adrenaline pumped through Raph's veins as he jumped over the side on the couch to open the window, "Mikey, what are you doing?! Get in here!"

Mikey grinned and evaded his brother's grasp, "What are you doing? They're having a parade today, come see it with me!" His eyes shown with mischievousness under his mask, clearly he had not asked permission, Raph was almost impressed.

"What, is it the freak parade? You could see it on the news without being out in broad daylight." Raph growled and leaned further out the window to attempt to bring the other in.

"You sound like Leo!" Mikey jumped to the opposite catwalk and started to jump up the stairs, "Don't be boring!"

Eyes searching professionally for movement, Raph's worry was buried under annoyance towards his little brother. He climbed outside, feeling somehow guilty as the sun touched his skin. "You're an idiot Mikey." He mumbled, meaning to yell it as he chased his more lithe young turtle, but his voice was caught by his ninja instincts.

Mikey seemed to be making some attempt to keep to the shadows, if not the best attempt. "Hurry up Raph!" He hollered, voice weak as the wind the blew over the roof tops.

"For a parade?" Sometimes Raph worried that Mikey wasn't was 'off' in some ways, especially considering how many times he'd abused the fun loving turtle's head himself.

A clamor ahead sure sounded like a parade, until Raphael processed the sounds with a more suspicious mind. Over lapping marching bands turned into the wail of sirens and dark floats turned into curls of black smoke. Mikey crouched on the edge of a building where they could look down, his shoulders sagged as he watched.

Raphael came to crouch beside him, firemen rushed around the outside of the building, dousing the building in water but it never seemed to help. Paramedics pulled sheets over a few blacked faces, while other's on stretchers screamed and neighbors gathered to comfort sobbing residents. But for Raph seeing tragedies from above like they only ever saw them was unreal, and it affected him in way that hurt but faded with only another thin layer of anger to mark it's existence.

Raph couldn't be sure where Mikey stored memories like this. Carefully he attempted to put a comforting hand on the other's shoulder, but Mikey stood up just then and began to run. Raphael's fingers only just brushed the cool soft skin. "Mikey!" He called, watching his brother carelessly hoping roofs.

A strange scream caught his attention before Raphael could chase after his brother. The sound of it foreign and disturbing enough that his hands curled instinctively around his sai. A body crawled onto the window ledge at the top floor. From the open window behind flames licked at the open air. The person was black and the charred clothes sent out little wisps of smoke that Raph swore he could smell beyond all the rest of the smoke that filled the air. It smelled like meat.

The blackened face seemed to draw up, looking towards him, and Raphael realized that the firemen were still busy below and didn't see the person on the window ledge. Hesitating, sweat began to bead on Raph's brow, the person stood, also nervous. Black seemed to drip from the face, but he was too far away for Raphael to be really sure, and he refused to be sure.

"Hey! On the top floor! Look up! Look up!" Raphael shouted, forgetting about hiding for the moment. His voice became quickly hoarse as he screamed for attention in the smoke. "On the top floor!" But the firemen didn't notice the person in the window until he dove out. The red that surrounded Raph's vision framed the man as he impacted the pavement, splattering the sobbing group below. Then Raph turned on his heel and took off in the direction of his brother before he could consider whether he'd done the right thing.

Mikey had disappeared, but then, Raphael couldn't look too thoroughly. A helicopter's propellers droned from behind, and pinched with anxiety he jumped down into a dark alley, tucked amongst trash bags until it passed. Once the sound faded, Raph tip toed up to the main street to check the street addresses.

He was only a block or so from April's apartment, Mikey had probably lost his nerve like he had and went there, Raph reasoned. He scaled the cat walks, watching his callused green hands pull him up, and his hardened bare feet lead him to the familiar antique store where there was always an unlocked window even when the owner wasn't home.

"April?" Raph called, and wasn't surprised when she didn't answer, she was at work. "Mikey?" He tried next, and listened hard but didn't hear anything. April's house was tidy and feminine and smelled like candles, but Mikey wasn't there.

Raphael thought for a minute, taking out his sai and twirling them, which was his favorite nervous habit after his nails were bitten all the way down. The phone in the kitchen rang, but Raph didn't move to answer it. He only look towards the source of the noise and waited until the answering machine came on. After all, no one but April lived here, so it wouldn't be very sneaky if he answered it.

"Hey April! Well I know you're at work but…" Raphael smirked as Donny's voice nervously stuttered through the message. "I thought Raph was there? Leo said he was at Casey's but he didn't answer when I called, so he must have misheard… So, are you there Raph?" "Is that Raph? Let me say hi!"

Raphael's smirk vanished. "Hi Raph! I'm going to go into your room and touch all your stuff!" "Mike, this is just the answer mach…" The phone beeped and the recording stopped.

Raphael's skin prickled, but his face was stony and calm, his dark eyes purposely not looking at anything or more importantly, not looking _for_ anyone. Things weren't adding up. When the knock on front door came he moved so silently he seemed to float to it, and peered through the spy hole with his breath held.

It was called paranoia, Raph knew that, but seventeen years of foot ninjas, aliens and mad scientists had taught him that his paranoia was rarely ever nothing. The curved glass gave a distorted image of the man's face. Raph's hands stalled above his weapons, behind his mask his eyes narrowed then relaxed.

Casey Jones rocked on the balls of his feet for a moment, then cocked an ear towards the door and listened, his head comically enlarged through the glass. Still, Raph didn't answer the door. Was the man wearing the same thing? The same jean coat, but beyond that Raphael hadn't paid attention. It wasn't his nature to notice what humans wore, he wasn't _that _paranoid.

After a moment more of listening, Casey searched his pocket and fished out a key with a paper tag; April's spare. Then the teen noticed the couch behind him, covered in plastic. He dove behind a cornered easy chair, aimed so he could just see the corner of the old sofa. Raph didn't think April needed a new couch particularly, but he was never one to care about that sort of thing.

Casey hummed lightly in an off-pitched tone, clearly thinking he was alone, but the sound was nearly engulfed by what Raph took to be the new couch just barely making it's way through the door. From his vigil Casey's leg came into view, and began to drag away the old couch. Then there was quiet, something apparently having won his attention, and why wouldn't it. Raphael's lips twitched in a barely suppressed smile. There's all kinds of reasons why Casey would agree to deliver April's new couch while she wasn't home, the least of which being brownie points.

Experimentally Raphael tapped his nail on the wooden leg of the chair, twice and deliberately soft and ever. Casey leg turned and the man hummed his curiosity before walking to the window and looking out for the sound of the tap. Raphael grabbed the other's ankle and gave it a squeeze. Casey screamed and pulled him limb back, toppling a lamp with his elbow as he stumbled back. The antique was easily caught by Raph's quick hand and replaced on it's stand.

"Damn it Raph!" Casey growled, then grinned, "I hate you. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, I just needed somewhere to be."

Casey rubbed the back of his neck, "How did you get here from my place?"

"I flew, it's a ninja thing."

"Whatever." Casey shrugged and went back to pushing the new couch into place, he pulled off the plastic and threw it at Raph. "Hey, I've got my truck pulled up against the back door, I could give you a ride back to your place if you want, if you help me get this couch down the stairs."

They barely edged the old thing out the front door, and nearly got it jammed in the narrow hallway. Then Raphael waited around the door frame and hid, listening to Casey complain and groan about hauling the heavy thing into the back of the van on the shaky wooden ramps by himself. When he finished Casey waved so 'inconspicuously' Raph couldn't help but sigh then dove into the back the van, like a bat out of a barn, Casey like to say.

Raph watched the sun from where he crouched between boxes and furniture. It was blue from the tinted windows, but spotted with white where the tinting had flaked off with age. He shoved the couched to give himself a little more room, and scowled at the heavy thing when it resisted him.

"Hey Casey…" He began when a thought occurred to him. Raph's dark eyes were caught on the sight out the window. The lights in the windows seemed to be going out one by one as they drove.

"How did you get that couch up the stairs?"

The van came to a bumpy halt. "Damn, there's construction, we'll have to take a detour." The van turned and the sun vanished behind tall buildings, but Raph didn't hear any construction.


	3. Chapter 3

Raphael's mind tried asking him, while he rolled forehead back and forth against his knees. First he had to stop breathing so loudly, because his hiding spot wasn't the best. In fact he was pretty sure, for a ninja, he'd failed completely, because he was hiding behind a garbage-can like a kid from a bully. 

The sound of feet echoed by, soundlessly Raph grasped his sai, but soon released them, except for one wavering thumb that stroked the leather bound handle. He was getting used to that sound; of feet that seemed to know where he was but faded as they drew near his lame hiding spot, and Casey's familiar voice. "Raph? Where are you? Yer acting like a nut, come out!"

That almost worked the first time, but the second and third time it was too suspicious, and now it was just unnerving. Goosebumps rose on his cold arms, but the emerald skin was clammy with sweat, Raphael's breath hitched slightly with the urge to run. Raph knew that feeling, it was fear, but he decided to think of it more as 'alarm', or better yet, since he was getting pretty desperate, 'hyper awareness and concern'.

_What is this? _He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. _Why is it happening? Think like Leo… _"Raph? Where are you? Yer acting like a nut, come out!" _Think like Donny… _Raphael concentrated for a moment, but the harder he tried to rationalize and strategize like his smart brother the more empty his head became, and he had to go back to thinking his own way before he went completely blank.

_I'll just do things my way then…_The footsteps ran towards him then disappeared into nothing again. His sai cart wheeled from his belt into his calloused palms. Most of the streets had fallen into an early shadow as the tall building cast their shade sideways away from the sun that had just started falling to the west. …"Raph? Where are you? Yer acting like a nut, come out!"

Raphael nearly faltered as the form of Casey turned at the sound of his feet against the filthy asphalt, but his instincts lead him on. After all, if he couldn't rely on them, he might as well go find a happy pond to float around in for the rest of his life. "Raph? Where are you…" He aimed his sai above the neck of the phantom. _Like a water balloon! _Raph thought, dodging around the man that melted into a puddle of black, with his teeth grinding together.

"No problem." He muttered once he was safely a top the nearest building, Raph swirled his sai a few times between his practiced fingers before sliding them into their resting place. Although his jaw ached and he seemed to have a lump in his throat he couldn't swallow, but that didn't mean he was stressed or anything did it? Maybe he would call his brothers just to make sure they weren't… experiencing anything. "No problem at all."

Calling his brothers was more of a problem than it should have been, actually. No shell cell. As Raphael prowled the rooftops, sweating slightly in the autumn sun, his hand occasionally went to his belt. Somehow he was still disbelieving that, as a trained ninja, he would run out of his home in the middle of the night without his cell, his shuriken, or even his damn elbow pads for that matter, then have the audacity to _continue_ running around without them in broad daylight.

He crawled up to a ledge and looked down, another payphone occupied by a whorey looking woman. All the payphones in Manhattan were the same, and apparently, Raph snorted as he backed safely away from the edge in irritation, they all had the same customer, probably all calling each other too…

The next payphone was unoccupied, deserted and otherwise forsaken in what seemed to be a nicely fenced off construction sight. Must be a holiday, Raph grinned, finally. Today he'd just about toured the entire city end to end, it was about time he actually got what he wanted.

His grin grew wider, he had no money of course.

Luckily, for Raph, that problem was easily fixed because the payphone was also broken.

Clouds thinly screened the sun and made the air cool but sunny. Raphael remarked silently on his circumstance, his enemy seemed less real just then, as he hung up the phone. What had he been running from… after? Maybe it was the sun, Raph didn't get a lot of sun for obvious reasons. He'd always thought it was the fresh air, but maybe it was the sunshine that made him feel mellow then like he did when they stayed at Casey's farm.

Crossing his arms Raph turned and leaned against the pay phone with his shoulder, like he'd seen the normal teenagers do on dark nights, like they were waiting for someone. His red mask tails caught a breeze, drawing his vision up as they fluttered up at the side of his face.

A strange look passed over Raph's face, he'd never seen the look himself and didn't know he was making it. His brother's had seen it though, and all of them shivered each time they saw it because it meant something bad was going to happen. Still, Raph's mouth fell open. Why had he come here? Seemed to Raph like a pretty fishie coincidence.

Shredder's collapsed tower bent like a dark stain against the rest of the city. _Hasn't this thing been torn down yet? It's been over a month… _Lights were beginning to flicker on around him, the street lights and office windows.

The deflated thing almost looked pathetic, it was dead and it's owner with it. Raph was sure. He _was _sure. Wasn't he? It seemed like they had killed Oroku Saki more times than he could remember. But Raphael has seen the man's head rolling away from the force of his brother's sword, _that _was real. You can't get more real than that.

The building was ruble, still towering, but less than half than it's original height. Maybe some of it had been cleared away already, it was hard to tell. A morbid curiosity pricked at Raph's nerves, he'd been pressing his luck all day so it seemed a little early to stop. Because somehow he heard, or maybe he just felt it through the bottom of his feet… a thud like something heavy had moved or fallen below.

The more sensible side of him warned him to run home, more running, and get Leo and all. The quick-tempered teen had learned from experience that you just couldn't mess around with anything when it came to the Shredder. That meant everything, from narrow escapes, missing bodies, a single Foot prowling like a scouting ant, Raph would suspect Shredded cheese if it gave him even a hint of a reason, and definitely movement in an abandoned tower. But the other side of Raph thought that this moment was just for him, especially when an ambulance screamed by on the other side of the construction fence, turning off all the street lights one by one as it passed.

(Think of this more as Chapter 3 part 1, see I've been busy (terribly unique excuse), so I thought posting what I had was better than not posting at all and/or ever again. Also, I'm finally getting to the point of my story, huzza.)


	4. Chapter 4

Any signs of an entrance had been buried and destroyed, and heck, Raph could be standing on the reception desk and not know it. He found himself pawing at the ruble almost blindly before he realized twilight had already completely infected the air.

"Damn."

Some more pushing and the pile beneath him crumbled and began to fall away. He'd already back flipped away from the moving carnage of the building and watched the ground open before it could carry him with it.

After the dust settled there was, amazing, an opening that looked just his size to squeeze through. Even more amazingly, a weak light was also there to show Raph the way down. Another thump echoed its way more clearly, more solid, to where Raph looked down with his brow knotted in suspicion.

Raphael was almost relieved, with his keen sense of irony that he didn't quite fit down his little rabbit hole. He took off his belt and wrapped it around his forearm then tucked his sai in against his wrist. Then he just barely fit with his shell grating uncomforting against the steel and concrete.

Tight spaces were manageable. Raph had been in some odd places. Like under Mikey's bed when they were playing hide and seek. This was also like being under Mikey's bed, Raph thought as he edged his way down, head first, with just a whisper of white light leading him on. Knees and elbows becoming raw against what may have been a ruined staircase, because the ground seemed ribbed sometimes like there may have been steps. It was also like Mikey's room in that Raph felt a spider web break against his face. And _that_ was slightly less manageable.

His tongue tasted bittersweet with dust. Raphael slid painstakingly around a rock, and nearly cut his own eye out having forgotten about his relocated sai for a moment. The travel was labored but nearly silent. Then the air began to become foul, almost acidic with the repulsive smell. But the light still shone, and Raph was nearly there. While above, where he'd left the street, was black.

Reaching for a shadow that seemed particularly sharp caused another disturbing collapse of his small tunnel. Falling suddenly, Raphael just barely managed to catch himself on all fours. He landed with his teeth grinding on checkered tile filthy with dust and rat droppings and ruble.

Light emanated from control panels, some cracked or flickering, most black. Raph's eyes adjusted to the brighter light, briefly interrupted by the movement of people.

Foot Ninjas.

Instantly Raph was on his feet, sai drawn quickly but awkwardly from his wrist, muscles strained beneath his verdant skin. "Alright," Raph said, low and dark. "Tell me what you're doin' here, and _maybe_ I'll be nice." His mind boggled with the impossibilities while his morbid paranoia was quietly satisfied.

The soldier in Raphael began to flair. Sometimes things just got too simple, and it was easy to relax. But the part of him and his brothers that knew War and Hate made Raphael always ready to fight. Six, he counted after announcing himself, and waited for them to attack.

They didn't.

In fact, Raph noted with irritation, they didn't even look his way. One hunched only a few feet away, typing furiously at a keyboard, the monitor of which was cracked and nonfunctional.

Raph swallowed a lump in his throat. Another foot ninja jogged in front of the teen, carrying a Petri dish, with one ankle dragging slightly behind at an angle, the queer sound of broken bones grinding with every step. Then he ran back, then forth, and back again. Cautiously with his sai raised he followed the jogging Foot to the end of the room.  
The ceiling there was halfway collapsed, marring the view of some kind of dead machine that filled the entirety of the wall. A different Foot knelt before it, pawing at a control panel. A tuft of blond hair shown through the torn fabric on his mask.

Raph looked around him again. Foot running pointlessly back and forth, picking up tools, setting them down, picking them up… The Foot beneath him continued to paw, chanting so near inaudibly Raph had to crouch down to hear. "Turtle…turtle…" A long cut grazed the top of his fist. Raph recognized the mark in a moment, startled enough that he coughed. His throat was suddenly dry and tight, he'd been here before.

"Stop." Raph croaked, stuttering as if he were talking to no-one. "It's useless…" Reaching out slowly for the man's shoulder his own weapons lowered. The ninja's arm melted away through Raph's fingers, and he continued to do his 'work' with his remaining arm.

Shaking his hand clean, Raph stood and turned away. Disgusted but now cold and otherwise unaffected. He had been here, his memories were fleeting though. He'd been in a hurry, saving the world and all, but that didn't seem like such a big deal now.

A doorway near the machine was mostly filled with pieces of wall and ceiling. Sidestepping carefully around a Foot opening an empty cabinet and holding his arm to his chest, reaching in for nothing… Raph climbed the pile and looked through into the corner of the next room.

There, it was more clear. He'd come through here. Kick, broken arm. Thrust, cut the fingers and disarm. Donny had been telling him where to go through a headset, to shut down the security system. Then he'd stolen a flying craft, alien technology and gone straight to the top to help his brothers.

He hadn't caused this though? Had he? No, Shredder destroyed his own tower… Raph coughed again, a sense of danger making his skin uncomfortable. He wanted out.

Half walking, half jogging when there was room enough to avoid the 'busy' ninjas, Raph made his way back to the hole in the ceiling where he'd come from. It seemed blocked, balancing on several pieces of concrete that had fallen with him Raph cleared, until he could almost see a foreboding but clear path. Then more fell.

"Damn it!" Raph dropped to the floor with his shoulder's squared. The leather belt against his arm made it sweat and itch. Idly watching the silent ninjas from the corner of his eye Raph looked down and adjusted it.

A pale cut stood out against his elbow, he only noticed it among the others because of its memory. _Oh yeah…_ He thought as he remembered the healing wound. Raph turned and followed the ninja as he walked with a Petri dish to the machine. Well, he couldn't see it now because the ceiling had collapsed there, but the Foot gave it away. Moving with the dish to where he recalled a metal tray that slid from machine. He'd cut his elbow on the sharp metal thing, a clumsy, Mikey moment he'd forgotten about sometime while he was having his rips smashed in by the Shredder.

_So what?_ Raph quickly retreated as the Foot turned to retrace his steps. _You should be able to figure this stuff out, I've seen cop shows…_The ninja came his way again and Raphael slipped the Petri dish from between its fingers. Although he was careful not to touch it, its arm splattered on his bare feet, then as it continued to walk undeterred as its melting arm traveled throughout its body and the ninja was just little rivets of black sludge trailing along the floor.

It looked insignificant, Raph noted as he rotated the Petri dish trying to catch slivers of light inside, but couldn't see much. Still… Tossing around for something to carry it in or wrap it in, Raphael, holding the dish with some prejudice, spotted some paper beside the ninja he'd seen originally typing on the broken computer. Crouching down Raph grabbed a piece from the middle that wasn't dusty, it was just a stack of unused loose leaf and began to crumple it around the Petri Dish.

Beside the keyboard was a cap of some kind of thumb drive, like the kind Donny stored things on, and he only noticed it because he was even with it. Glancing below the desk showed the little unit jutting out of built in monitor of the same fashion as the machine that enclosed the far wall. Raphael took that too, holding the little thing from a moment between his large fingers. _Not Bad._

A twitch caught his eye, from his peripheral Raph saw the head of the typing Foot turn quickly away. _Get out_. He tried not to seem like he was about to panic, but by the time Raphael had pulled himself back up into the collapsed tunnel with his sai digging into his arm and the Petri Dish and thumb drive tucked beside them he _was_ panicking. _Now._

There was no light from either direction, because Raph had to push pieces below him as they blocked his path ahead. The only things he could see were the spots in his eyes and the remaining fragment of the ninja's head as it looked away from him in his mind. _Was it looking at me?_ Raph couldn't let himself think about that just yet. Right then he was more concerned that he'd seemed to have buried himself alive.

He was sure he was facing up, but he was only fairly sure he was going up the same way he came down, so he couldn't be at all sure he wouldn't come up under something to big for him to escape from. Raph decided he couldn't think about that right then either. So he decided to just give up on thinking and concentrate on going up.

When his bruised and shaky fist struck cold open air Raph didn't know what to think. He drew himself out with a calm slowness and sat for a moment, listening to car horns and distant music. Then he stood up and freed his arm from his belt. Retying it around his waist and replacing his sai to the proper station. Reaching up, Raph pulled a string of Spider web from his the edge of his shell and shook it off his hand with a grimace.

His arm wasn't bleeding, although it felt like it had been. The skin was dark and peeling slightly from having the metal rub and press on it. Without giving it another glance Raph slipped the Petri dish into his belt and thumb drive and looked for his exit.

The night was blissfully dark, Raph flipped easily over the fence, confident he wouldn't look any different then the rest of the punk teenagers running the streets and disappeared down the next man-hole.

Leo hung up the telephone and looked around him as he decided what to do. He'd called April, who said she didn't even know Raph had been there at all. That was before he'd called Casey and was told that Raph was "being totally spazmatic" (which Mikey had translated for him) and had run off in daylight. Then he'd tried the cell, which had rang nearby in Raph's room.

The light flickered in Master Splinter's room as the rat moved around. Leo was tempted to go ask his father if he should even _try_ with Raph at this point. He'd tried being lenient with his brother and it seemed like it was working for a while, but apparently not…

The door lock clicked from the outside but didn't open and Leo smirked slightly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Surely Raph wasn't trying to be sneaky, it was only just passed eleven. The door opened slightly, just so Raph could slip through, he was half turned looking over his shoulder.

Coming in with his attention diverted Raph tripped over the doorframe, then walked into the wall as he tried to catch himself with a surprised grunt. Leo tried to stop himself, laughing with his chin down so maybe he could still look serious at least. Hearing him, Raphael's head shot up and he lurched away from the sound into the light of their den.

Leo choked on his laughter and fell silent.

* * *

(I like this chapter because I got sneak in some neat words to help put your lovely minds in the right place. Hope you enjoyed them.) 


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